According to the study, the effectiveness of banner ads should be measured through search behaviour as much as by click-through rates, a survey from iProspect has found.

iProspect studied the behaviour of visitors to ad-supported sites for the research. The company found that nearly as many netizens who click on banner ads will conduct searches for brands associated with the ad, and nearly half of all audiences on an ad-supported site will eventually perform a search that is relevant to the ad they saw.

The study highlights the vital connection between display ads and search engine marketing.

“This new iProspect study goes beyond previous studies about the importance of integrating the offline and online marketing mix,” said Antony Yiu, search director for iProspect Hong Kong. “Marketers should shed the old dotcom era mentality of using only display ads for their online campaigns and instead utilise a more synergistic approach of integrating both search and display ads to earn exponential returns on their advertising investment.”

In addition, the study found that 31 per cent of netizens respond to display ads by clicking on them, compared to 27 per cent who respond by conducting a search for the brand, product or company.

Twenty-one per cent instead choose to type the company’s URL into their browser and nine per cent find relevant information from social media sites.

According to iProspect, a total of 52 per cent of internet users actively respond to display ads.

The study also found that 33% of respondents to an online display ad go on to purchase from a company with which they are familiar, compared to the 14% who learn about a company for the first time from a digital display ad.

1,575 American internet users were used in the study.

Editorial Note: The one thing from this study that shouldn’t go overlooked is the part about people who purchase from a company they are familiar with versus purchasing from a company they are unfamiliar with. This aspect of the study emphasizes the importance of branding. Many times, the only importance put on a banner campaign is that of “how many clicked and how many bought?” The key is, however, how well did that banner do at putting an impression of your company into the minds of readers? In this instance branding is more vital that the initial click-through or purchase rate because it is the branding that will help make your company be a “familiar” one with users, thus increasing future marketing efforts. Of course, branding requires techniques of its own to be more successful. Type in Branding in our Search feature (top right-hand sidebar) to read some good branding articles from this site and Online Dating Magazine.

“The magnitude of the differences we found offers compelling evidence that targeting by site yields important benefits for advertisers,” says Scott McDonald, Condé Nast SVP/Research.

Drew Schutte, SVP and Chief Revenue Officer for Condé Nast Digital, adds “while we have long known that context is important for print advertisers, we welcome proof that the same is true online. These results reinforce the importance of a marketer being associated with category-specific Web sites with established brands.”

In the study, each of the 400 ads for which recall was measured was associated with the Web sites in which they appeared. Ads were segmented by whether they appeared on Web sites with related content. Recall of ads was measured among Internet users who were directed to surf the Internet at will for 30 minutes.

In a study titled “An Examination of Different Explanations for the Mere Exposure Effect,” researchers found that a familiarity with the stimulus makes people more “fluent” at processing it, and that fluency makes people think they must like. it. The research also found that consumers have a high level of tolerance for repeated exposure to banner ads with little “wear-out effects”

“The mere exposure effect is the finding that repeated exposure to a stimulus, without giving people any information about it, leads to enhanced liking,” says Rohini Ahluwalia, Professor of Marketing at the Carlson School of Management in regards to his 2007 study. “That stimulus could be a variety of things, even a face, a symbol, a logo, a tune, a rhythm, or a color.”

An example for that could be recent banner ads and commercials that simply showed a 23 and picture of a plug against a green backdrop. It created curiosity and a buildup to today’s announcement(August 11, 2009) from GM that it is releasing a car next year that gets 230 miles per gallon. The buildup in curiosity with the ad exposure generated additional interest and excitement of the announcement.

Getting back to banner ads, the Exposure Effects study found that “online advertisers might be placing excessive emphasis on the click-through rates—the primary metric for measuring the effectiveness of online ads. Our results suggest that even when there is no overt sign of effectiveness, such as recognition or click through, the banner ads may still impact ad liking.”

Studies have also shown that long-term exposure to a message can influence consumer actions. But the way an ad is presented could change that. For example, consumers are turned off by pop-up ads and it generally creates a distrust with companies that use that method a lot.

Banner ad campaigns should be a vital part of any long term marketing strategy for an online dating service. Many middle-of-the-road online dating services can’t afford the mass TV advertising that sites like Match.com and eHarmony use to build brand awareness. Yet long-term banner campaigns across multiple target market sites can help branding efforts along with long term consumer action from exposure.

(Online Dating Advertising) Australia’s online advertising market has again beaten advertising market trends, recording continued strong, double digit growth year on year of 18.5 percent for the full financial year. This is according to figures released August 11 by IAB Australia in its Online Advertising Expenditure Report. The Online Advertising Expenditure Report, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed that online advertising expenditure in Australia for the financial year ending June 30 2009 exceeded $1.8 billion and totalled $453 million for second-quarter 2009 (three months ended 30 June 2009).

For the full financial year, search engines and directories accounted for 49 percent of the total advertising expenditure, while general display accounted for 27 percent and Classifieds 24 percent. Search engines and directories expenditures grew 25 percent for the full financial year while general display grew 19.6 percent and classifieds 6 percent.

“Given the challenges of the past eight months since the GFC impacted on the Australian media economy, any growth is welcome,” said Paul Fisher, CEO of IAB Australia. “The latest revenue figures demonstrate the continued confidence marketers and agencies have in online as an advertising medium both when times are good and when times are tough. Search continues to drive the growth in the industry, with display advertising also well supported. Unsurprisingly, online classifieds advertising has been impacted by declines in the employment, real estate and automotive markets. The continued growth of online advertising expenditure coupled with anecdotal increases in online advertising activity already this quarter, position the industry strongly. With the economy showing early signs of recovery, the online industry is well on track to exceed $2 billion in calendar 2009.”

The IAB Online Advertising Expenditure Report includes data from more than 1,000 websites.

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